Cotton cleaner



Patented Mar. 4,1924.

rmx momenti, or MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS; Assieme To THE MRRAY coiui PANY, or DALLAS, TEXAS; A. companion 'or TEXAS.. 1

COTTON CLEANER.

applicati@ mea maren i,v 19:23. semi No.1 621,994;

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FELIX RACKEMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milton, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new i and useful Improvements in Cotton Clean-4 ers, of which the following is va specification; l ,A

My invention is a beater drum, especially adapted for use incotton cleaners, and consists in providing ,a hollow beater drum or drums, in such, a mechanism, having perforations in --the peripheral'walls or surface of the drum, or drums, through VVwhich perforationqs, in operation, compressed air may be discharged. Y

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of my improved cotton cleaner; 2e

vation of my improved cotton cleaner;

Figure 3 is an end elevation, showing the actuating mechanism; j

Figure 4 is a detail, on an enlarged scale, of the air connection; and Y Y Figure 5 is a detail on an enlarged' scale of a hollow bearing. Y Y' The operation of the feeder or feeder-` cleaner for cotton gins, is well vknown in In Figure l is shown` a cleaner feeder, consisting of a drum, D, having upon its sur. face a multiplicity of spikes, d. This drum is set beneath a pair of feed rolls,'a, mounted above the drum, D, in a passagea. The drum D -and feed rolls a rotate as indicated by the arrows. The seed cotton is passed between therolls a a and is compressed slightly and formed into a loose bat,

gears, outside the lcasing by means of which they areactuated from a source of power, all as is well known. To one side of the drum D is arranged a second ydrumv 'or' drums, 1, within ascreened casing 2, 3, the" screen being indicated by 2 and-the casing mounted in bearings 12 inthe side of 4casine3 The Shaft 11 sreetefl'et .11?. within.-

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional ele-V the art and need not be described at length.-`

which as it descends, is received by theby 3. 'Drum 1 is carried on hollow shaft 11 by heads l, VThe peripheralwalls 1b ofthe drum are perforated as at 1. vOn one end the drum, the ends of whichfdrum are closed l of the hollow shaft 11 is adjusted. an` air i connection, A, .within which the end` of shaft llrotates, and this connection is 'conof air under pressure.V

A, shield X, preferably *covers that por*-l tion of the innersurface of thedrum,v l,l

whichis'opposite the throat, j, and prevents the vdischarge of air through perforation 1 air from withinthe drum, which has entered through air box A, hollow shaftlll and vents 11a, is emitted through perfo- Vrations l"l beneaththe' cotton and tends to` lift and open and hold it against the screen y av suitable pipe, :01,fwith a sourcev l 60 es' I 2the air passingthrough Vthe cotton .and f A i the screen, carrying dust and trash from the cotton. The A screen 2 is preferably soA spaced from the drums that the cotton can? not be. forced'rby the outwardly {moving air, beyond'the ends of thespikes 1-- The cotton ispushed along bythe spikes, d, and

.held against the screen 2, luntilit reaches point 21 between drums, when the bat passes to the under sideV of drum D and is pushed tothe exit, e, and the chute, 7down rwhich 'y it passesto the gin,.indicated at G.

The feeder drum Y D may l likewise be equipped with compressedair means, vas indicated .in the drawings, beingv provided with aV hollow'shaffd, connected to a source of compressed ,air,the shaft beingAV vented to theinteriorfof the drum and the peripheral walls, a4, perforated as at d5.. shield, X,'having hubs mountedon shaft d', within which hubs theshaft d rotates, is

sustainedfin proper position bya counterweight, W. vThe shield X permitsthe free ml escape of air only at :points'where it is desirable,zto air-washfthe cotton, to press it Y againstzthefscreen, L2and to assist in ejecting the cotton through the exit, e. Y lPreferably. a portionv of the innerV sur-v direct action of the compressed air within `undY face 'ofth'edrumvlfis-A protected. against the actuating a rod jl which engages a vpivoted lever y7'2 carrying aratchet j? which engages andactuates in one direction a gear y'4 on theV endY of theishaft of feed roll a. A second gear t7'5 on lthe other feed roll al meshes with gear jt to drive thefeed rolls in unison.

The operationis as follows: Seed cotton,

being passedinto theieeder-'cleaner at, a, usually from' a cotton chute under which 'the machine is disposed, theseed-cofttoiiis engaged by ,the rollers af' a, and slightly compressed and forme into a'loose bat. The

hat received the driiimp, turning as.

indicated by the karrow, igure l, and moved by spikes d againstk the drum '71, rotating as indicated by the arrow, hytlie spikes CZ on'which drum l, the, cotton bat is carried around opposite thescreen 2 which begins, as shown, over lthe drum 11 and extends to the exit, c, of the casing ofthe Kfeedercleaner.

I haveshown the shields in the drawings A with a slighgclearance between the shieldv and .the inner snr-,falce of the drums. This was necessary in order to illustrate clearly theshielld. In practice the shield `fits the innersuriace of the, rather closely and *may also, if desired, beV equipped with felt strips along its edges to,substantially prevent the assises@ 0f .aj 'around the @den of the shields. I. have not attempted to indic'ate ysuch packing devices, which are commonly used in s 'uch situations. e

In cotton cleaners as heretofore c011- strncted, 'screensurface'y placed .above ythe centrer of the drum has not been tully ef-- fective, as rgravity tended to keep. ,the cotton from contact with the screen and dirt and sand could y*not vfall throughfthe screen. "In

my newpnei'unaticcleanerpthe Yair tends Per ,Sarees Seite@ against which it is ac; time@ by the rotating drum; and .Send and trash is blownrthrough theupper screen, out

'of'the'cottonrandifinds its way to the bottom '1a-,oi druni and isY secured thereto', and

passes nietige renew 'baring Y12 "in tussenin-,e eine .mouarf-.hamm bastin@ @artesana-11i' maybe; iiifc ist@ fue finis; es win espias.'

I claim: l. In a cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drum having closed ends and a multiplicity ofwperforationsV in its peripheral. walls,

axiallyfsupported for rotation within a screened casing, enclosing said drum; that casing; means to introduce air under coin-fpression into said drum, to be discharged through said perforations.

Y 2.' In a cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drum having closed ends and a multiplicity oi peri-oratioiis inits peripheral walls; a

hollow bearing at the axis of a closed end;k

a screened casing enclosing the duim; a hollow bearing on the casing to support the hollow bearing'on the drum; means to intro,- duce compressed air through the hollow bearings of the casing and drum end, into the hollow drum, to be discharged through the peripheral perforations.

3. In a cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drunihaving closed ends and a multiplicity of perforationsfin its peripheral walls;v a

hollow shaft, disposed along the longitudi#y nal Vaxis 'of the drum and having vents fromV the insideof the shaft?, within the drum; a

screened casing enclosing the drum; bearl ings for the shaft in the sides or said casing; means to introduce compressed a1r7 Vthrough the hollow shaft into the hollow drum, to be discharged through the peripheral periorations. Y

e. In a. cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drum having a multiplicity of perforations in its peripheral walls; a screen adjacent to said drum to hold the cotton adjacentto said drum; a shield supported within said drum in an adjusted position to cover a portion of the inner surface of the drum; and cover successively a part of the pertorations therein; means to causeai'r to be discharged through the uncovered perfora-tions during` the rotation of the drum.

5. In a cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drum having closed ends and amultiplicity of perforations in itsA peripheral walls; a hollow bearing at the axis of a closed end; a shield supported within said drum in an adjusted position tocovera portion of the inner surface of the drum and coversuccessively part or" the perforationstherein;

a screened casing enclosing the drum;.ab

hollow bearing on the casing to support the hollow bearing on the drum; means to introduce compressed air throughV the hollow bearings of the case and drum end7 into the hollow drum, to be discharged through thev uncovered perforations during the rotationv of the drum'. l

k6'. In al *cotton cleaner, a hollow rotary drinnhavingY closed ends and a multiplicity of Yperforatio'ns in its peripheral walls g, a hollow shaft, disposedy alongthe longitudinal axis oi 4the drum and'having vents' from the'insde of the shaft, within` the drum; *a

shield supported within said drum, upon said shaft, in an adjusted position to cover a portion of the inner surface of the drum and to cover successively a part of the perforations therein; a screened casing enclosing the drum; means to introduce compressed air through the hollow shaft into the hollow drum, to be discharged thrugh the uncovered perforations during the rotation of the drum.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, *thisY twenty seventh day or' February, 1923;

FELIX RACKEMANN. 

